Ideal Space Empire game part 3

Now, let's get to the nitty gritty of designing, the actual design.

The basic system used by Galactic Civilisations II works. Each size of shit chassis has a certain number of 'points' of size, and when you add a useful (I.E. Not aesthetic) piece to the ship it takes a certain number of size points. It's the general way it works. Their miniaturisation system was a bit odd, but let's just ignore that.

Upon choosing the size of ship you're going to design, you then get to work within that size limitation to create the ship of your dreams. However there are some limitations.

First off, each useful (not aesthetic) piece you put on the ship will cost at least SOME of the following.

1. Manpower. This is how many people will be required in the ship to keep it operating at peak capacity. Ships will be designed to contain the ideal number of crewmen/women needed to operate parts. Some pieces will need little manpower (Shielding will require only a few engineers to keep it functional) while other pieces may need a great deal (repair systems capable of fixing other ships in the fleet will require a large number of crewmen).

2. Energy. Ships will require energy to run, and individual parts will alter the energy requirements. Ships will need to satisfy this requirement before they can be considered a viable design. As with manpower, some parts will have a higher energy cost then others. Energy weapons and shields will require a large amount of energy, while mass drivers are comparatively energy free.

3. Money. Ships will cost money to produce. Little in life is free, and galactic warfare is no exception. The individual parts put on a ship will increase the cost of the ship as a whole. Some parts will be relatively cheap (armour plating will be mostly pretty cheap) while others - such as high end energy generators - will be quite expensive.

4. Space. Each non-aesthetic piece put on the ship will take a certain amount of space on the overall design, as described above.

So as you can see, designing a ship is a delicate balancing act of energy requirements, manpower requirements and cost, and fitting all that on the ship in question along with the facilities you require.

Now, what haven't I covered? OH YES, engines.

GalcivII had a basic "engine gets better" research system. In this ideal game of mine, though, it's a bit more complex. Keep in mind since there is actual manouvering done in the game, there's more to consider then simple engine speed.

Now, let's consider three different Engine types, just to make things interesting. We'll go soft science, because the alternative is too difficult to work with. Let us consider what they are as a basic idea, coupled with the advantages they would bring in-game. To make things simple, let's say that ships are not allowed Drives of more then one type, but each type has two different engines 'speed' engines and 'maneouver' engines.

1. Inertialess drive. As a basic rule, the reason faster-then-light travel is considered a holy grail of physics is because as you increase in speed, the amount of energy that is required to increase a step further in speed increases. Current understanding is that JUST BEFORE you hit light speed, the amount of energy required to go that final extra step is approximately infinite. The inertialess drive cancels this out and creates a general, flat ratio of energy-to-thrust.

On the game map Inertialess drive ships would move straight. This means they are unable to move through obstacles and must pass ships that may be attempting to block them, rather then go round them. The inertialess drive is relatively easy to maintain (at least compared to other hyperadvanced FTL drives) so cost less manpower, but requires a constant input of energy, so has a higher energy cost.

On the battlemap, the inertialess drive's advantage is that it has a rapid acceleration rate. It may not be faster then other drives, but it can accelerate from a stopping point much quicker. However it's turning speed is not particularly impressive. This is represented in it's 'speed' engine having a high acceleration stat, but it's manouver engine having a relatively higher cost for the same effect, compared to the other drives.

2. Warp space. Another method around the FTL limitation is simply to sidestep physics. Well, I say 'simply', in reality it's an incredibly complex procedure, but once a ship has stepped out of the real world and into the dimension past this one, normal laws of physics as we know them don't apply. A short distance in that dimension could be an incredibly long distance in our own.

In the game map, Warp space means the ship ceases to exist in our reality, travels a distance, then drops back into the reality we know and love in a different location. This means they can sidestep obstacles that may impeed their progress. Inertia drives are VERY complex to maintain, not to mention the task of navigating from one location to another in the other reality, then dropping out in the right spot is incredibly difficult, requiring a large amount of manpower. In addition, the requirements to pass from one dimension to another are very, very energy draining. This is offset somewhat by the slightly lower price of these drives, but mostly in place to make up for the immense ease they have in getting from point A to point B.

In the battle map, the pinpoint maneuverability required in the alternative dimension pays off, as the maneuvering engines are quite effective. However their speed engine has lower acceleration and top speed.

3. 'Jump' drive. While somewhat similar in appearance to the warp drive, the main effect is somewhat different in impact. The warp drive jumps the ship to another dimension to carry on it's travels. The Jump drive actually physically transports the ship from point A to point B without traveling through any of the intervening points. Literal teleportation. Unfortunately these teleportation jumps are limited in distance.

On the game map, the Jump drive is halfway between the two alternatives. It functions by making a series of short jumps, making a number of them over a turn. Though it can be fiddly, the drive can jump around some obstacles if positioned properly. However it does reappear in 'real' space often enough that it cannot bypass everything. The system does not require as much energy as one might assume, but the drives require careful preparation for each jump, meaning it needs a reasonable amount of manpower to operate.

Finally, the battle map shows the real strength of the Jump drive. While it has average speed, maneuverability, and acceleration, it has another strength. Ships equipped with Jump drives are able to physically teleport across the map once per battle. This gives them a definite advantage in tactical moves.



Now, for the final post (hopefully tomorrow) I'll discuss different types of ship subsystems.